


what blooms in neglect

by skell



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Gardening, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, crushing on your neighbor while stuck in quarantine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:28:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24196729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skell/pseuds/skell
Summary: Yamaguchi decides to take home a cactus, thinking it'd be enough of a commitment to keep him busy, and he could use the companionship while holed up in his room. He quickly learns that he is no green thumb, and the plant's health starts deteriorating despite how much he fussed over it. A neighbor the next building over has been finding Yamaguchi's daily struggles by the window amusing, eventually calling out to him, "You're doing too much, those plants flourish in neglect."What begins as a casual sharing of gardening tips slowly crosses personal territory and playful flirting, but surely it's impossible to see someone blushing a whole building away... But if Yamaguchi neglected the growing feelings in his heart, will they flourish instead, too?
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 61
Kudos: 289





	1. a window of opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will have drawings in it, which are hosted on imgur. If they don't show up, please consider whitelisting the site from your adblocker! The drawings will be watermarked with my artist username 'yankasmiles'. (Don't worry, I'm not using Yanka's drawings without permission.)
> 
> Also, I left my house for the first time in two months today. I figured that was a good enough sign to start posting this fic that I've been working on ever since our community quarantine started. Stay home and stay safe!

* * *

Spring — from the dead of winter, life emerges back into its place. Nature wakes from its slumber and vibrancy returns to the world again. What a joy it would be to walk around the park, to take in the bursts of colour sprouting from the leaves, the bushes, the flowerbeds…

Yamaguchi stares out his window, simulating this walk in his mind. There’s wind on his face, sweat on his brow, and proper shoes on his feet. He might even run his hand down a tree trunk just to feel its texture under his fingertips. He thinks about the little earthworms in the soil, enjoying the sunlight as they crawl out from underground, making their way to join upper-ground worm society. But not him. No. A month ago he wouldn’t have even thought twice about going outside, but now it’s not even something anyone could consider an easy possibility. Cocooned within the walls of his quiet apartment, Yamaguchi will not even entertain the thought of going outside unless he absolutely needs to do something.

He can dream with his eyes open.

Yamaguchi glances at the phone in his hand as he rests his elbow on his windowsill. He’s been swiping his finger down the phone screen absentmindedly, refreshing the webpage that refuses to load. His connection has been down for a while, spotty on good days but non-existent for the most part.

He would've gotten his connection repaired by now. He wishes he could, but delayed maintenance work was inevitable due to community quarantine restrictions. Everyone from his department will be working from home until the situation eases up, so he couldn’t rely on using work WiFi either. Despite everything, he wants to believe that he can survive another day without some sweet, sweet internet connection. What he isn't sure of, however, is if his cactus is going to survive until then, too.

Water dribbles down Yamaguchi's wall, drip, drip, dripping from the cactus pot on his windowsill and further down to the floor. He sets his phone on a table and stares helplessly at the prickly little thing, the little bit of nature that remains within his reach.

"Don't die on me, Spike. Are you dying on me already?" Yamaguchi half-whimpers as he strokes the cactus. "You've barely even outgrown being a child. You've still got a whole life ahead of you. A life with me! Hang in there!"

He sighs, frown deepening with each passing moment. A rustling sound catches his attention, and Yamaguchi turns his gaze to the apartment building before him. From one of the windows dangles a beautiful cascade of yellow flowers — bright, healthy, thriving. They dance with the wind, the petals almost glistening against the drab building exterior.

He returns his eyes to Spikeasaurus Rex, all small, sad, and withering.

He could feel himself going mad. Wasn't gardening supposed to be relaxing? This wasn't very relaxing right now. But then again he hasn't seen or spoken to anyone in what feels like a lifetime, and he thinks the isolation might be getting to his head. He hasn't even left his room since all this started. He thought he could cope with some alone time, maybe enjoy it even, but he couldn't find it in himself to relax. It's a small blessing that his apartment unit has windows, a lack of sunshine would've made him wilt.

Yamaguchi sticks his head out the window, and a cool breeze washes over his face. Ah, he should’ve done this sooner. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in. He can almost hear the faraway tune of a wind chime, and the creaks and murmurs of neighbors behind closed doors.

"I know it's really tough right now, Spike, but we'll make it through this. You and me." He blinks his eyes open as a bit of sun reflects from the building windows and onto his skin. The air is crisp, the sky is clear, and the cherry blossom trees in the distance are set to bloom any day now. He feels better. "We're strong boys, aren't we? We've got fight left in us, don't we?!"

"Pfft."

Yamaguchi retreats back into his apartment and whips his head to the direction where the sound had come from. He freezes, and it takes every last bit of his willpower to convince himself that he shouldn't run away when his eyes meet that of a stranger's.

A pokerfaced man now towers above the dancing yellow flowers. “It’s a person,” is Yamaguchi’s first thought. He’s thankful he doesn’t say it out loud, the shock and embarrassment having paralyzed him.

"Uh. Uh-huh. Sorry, good morning," Yamaguchi finally manages to say while struggling to maintain eye contact. In silence, he studies his neighbour's blond hair and sleek eyeglasses, and his voice goes even quieter as he asks, "How much did you hear?"

"Today, or in total for the past week?” the man says in lieu of a greeting.

Yamaguchi's heart sinks to the pit of his stomach. His soul drops further through the floor and tumbles onto the pavement three storeys below. His first human interaction in a week and it's already a top contender for the most embarrassing encounter of his life.

He must've been staring out into dead air for quite a bit, but his thoughts are interrupted by a series of soft plunking sounds. He finds his neighbour setting up a row of flower pots by his window, each with a different small, leafy plant. Yamaguchi can see now that the other man has bright yellow gloves on, which look a little funny considering the shiny pyjama button-down he was wearing, folded up to his elbow presumably to keep the dirt off it. The man seems either unbothered by Yamaguchi’s staring, or is too engrossed by the work to even notice him.

"Do you like gardening?" Yamaguchi blurts out before he could think.

A pause falls between them. Yamaguchi tries not to think of it as awkward. If he doesn't think about it, maybe the silence will stop being awkward. He considers asking again in case his neighbor didn’t hear him, but what if he’s being ignored on purpose? Why is he even talking?

Before he can fully launch into a crisis, the man finally replies, "It's okay."

Yamaguchi isn’t sure what to say next. Has all this isolation made him forget how to hold a conversation? The last time he spoke out loud was to Spike, and Spike isn’t much of a conversationalist, or even human to begin with.

"You've been doing too much.”

Yamaguchi blinks thrice, as if coming out of a trance. "Huh? What do you mean?"

“Cacti are desert flora, they'd be better off dry than wet," his neighbor continues. “Those plants flourish in neglect. Yours would probably survive if you stopped watering it too much."

“Too much? How could you tell?”

The man lifts up the watering bucket in his hand high enough so Yamaguchi can see it. "There's water trickling down your window. A lot of it, actually."

Yamaguchi feels his cheeks burn. “It’s my first plant. I'm really new to all this."

“Why a cactus?”

“Well,” he pauses. He thinks back to that carefree afternoon in town, how he wandered into that small store in the station simply out of curiosity. He remembers reading the fun plant facts on display, and how a poster noted that gardening and talking to plants could be therapeutic. Yamaguchi found Spike tucked away among a bunch of cutting tools, away from the other cacti. “He looked all lonely at the store, so I brought him home.”

In an instant, the stone expression on his neighbor’s face changes as he tilts his head back and lets out a laugh. Yamaguchi doesn't even feel bad about being laughed at, he focuses instead on the way the shift in angle allows the sun to illuminate the other man’s smile and makes his hair glow gold.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t expect an answer like that.” The blond continues watering his plants, but his face doesn’t look as stern as it did.

“It was kind of on a whim anyway,” Yamaguchi explains, leaning forward onto his windowsill, eager to keep talking for some reason. "I figured this whole situation would be a good chance to try something new, keep myself busy. Having something to care for would give some meaning to every day in isolation too, I guess?"

"Didn’t the store clerk give you any tips?”

“No... It’s my fault too, since I kind of paid and left in a hurry. I meant to go back to ask, but they closed up for the quarantine soon after I got him. I was starting to worry if I got a sickly one, or if I’ve just been doing everything wrong," Yamaguchi admits.

"You need to uproot the cactus from the pot. See if the roots are still healthy. If they look ok, you should leave it out to dry for a while to get rid of all the extra moisture."

"Oh. Okay,” Yamaguchi nods. “...How do I do that?"

At this, he finally meets Yamaguchi's eyes. Even from a distance, his pout can be seen clearly. "Do you have internet?"

Yamaguchi’s whole body tenses up. ”Sorry, I've been bothering you—”

"No, I mean,” his neighbor shakes his head. He grumbles something to himself and says, “Never mind. Wait here, I can demonstrate it for you."

“What, really?” Yamaguchi says, genuinely surprised. Maybe his neighbor is just struggling with conversation because of all the isolation too, and isn’t actually as prickly as he seems.

“I was going to repot something today anyway. I'll go get it,” he says. "Do you have any scrap papers that you could use?"

“Like a newspaper? I'm pretty sure I do!”

“How about some cinnamon powder?”

Yamaguchi pauses at that. “Uh. I don’t know. I might have some left that I use for tea. But what would I need that for?”

“You’ll need it for the roots. I take it that you don’t have any kind of extra soil lying around?”

He shakes his head, feeling a little guilty for being ill-prepared. “No, I don’t.”

“I can give you some when it’s time for you to repot, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Yamaguchi’s not entirely sure, but it looks like his neighbor is smiling. “We need to see if your cactus survives all this, first.”

His neighbor leaves, and Yamaguchi retrieves the items asked of him. When his neighbor reemerges, he has with him a pot shaped like a frog head and a smaller brown pot with a healthy-looking cactus pup in it.

“Can you see what I’m doing from there?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Yamaguchi answers a little too quickly. “Uh, if I don’t understand something, I’ll let you know…?”

His neighbor guides him through the process. Yamaguchi appreciates the excuse to stare at the other man, admire the way his hands work. He reasons to himself that he’s probably just extra intrigued over seeing another person for the first time in forever, and it helps that the other man looks easy on the eyes as well. It’d be nice if he could go closer, even just a little bit, just to see what his neighbor is doing that much better.

Yamaguchi follows suit. Spike dislodges from the soil easily, the heavy moisture having caused the dirt to soften around him . Yamaguchi cradles his little baby in his hands. He holds him up for his neighbor to study his roots — they’re mostly white, a good sign.

They continue working, mostly in silence, with his neighbor elaborating certain steps in the repotting process to give Yamaguchi an idea for what he'd need to do in the future. When Yamaguchi finishes fussing over Spike, he sets him aside for some sunbathing.

“Don’t do anything to it for a week. You need to give it time to drain out all that extra moisture,” his neighbor notes. He keeps his newly repotted plant away. "You can bring the cactus inside every now and then, since it'd be bad if it gets too much sun and ends up getting burnt."

"I didn't know a cactus could get sunburnt. I'll keep that in mind! Thank you so much," Yamaguchi says as he gathers up the dirt that spilled onto his windowsill. "This must’ve been so weird for you."

"It's nothing,” his neighbor replies. "I'm kind of losing my mind over here too, the change of pace was welcome. Since we’re done, I'll be heading back in now."

“Ah, okay.” Yamaguchi tries to smile as naturally as he possibly could. “I’ll… see you around I guess?”

"Sure,” the man says with a small smile of his own. “I hope Spikeasaurus Rex makes it."

And with that, the blond closes his window. Ah. So his neighbor has overheard enough of his monologues to know Spike’s full name. Yamaguchi feels all the extra moisture draining out from his own body, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I acknowledge that it's with some privilege that I'm able to write about the quarantine in this way, when so many people are out struggling to survive from day to day in this pandemic. I won't be dabbling too much on the global situation in this fic because we already get bombarded with that info and anxiety in real life. It goes without saying that it's good to stay informed and to be a responsible citizen in general. If you are able to, please help out in your community (from a distance!) and stay at home as much as possible.
> 
> On another note, I've already finished writing a good portion of this fic, so I can update it on a weekly basis for the first half, and maybe bi-weekly towards the end. I'm planning to repackage the whole thing into a PDF with extra doodles and illustrations once it's done. It's my first time writing in a really long time so I'm very nervous, but also very excited. I look forward to sharing this story with you!


	2. blunt thorns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind comments! You're all so nice...

He wakes up earlier than he would like. Yamaguchi goes without a phone alarm now that he doesn't have to worry about a work commute, but he still stirs around the same hour every day. He's gotten so used to waking with the sunrise that he can't yet figure out how to oversleep. Once he finally resigns to the fact that he’s going to have to get up, he opens his windows, then spends the next half hour staring at different corners of his room. He picks up the pace when his stomach grumbles and he decides to start preparing his food. Some days he thinks of making coffee, on others he daydreams of tea — but really it depends on whatever he can scrounge up from his dwindling pantry stash. Today it's instant coffee he remembers pocketing from a hotel he’d spent a night in months ago. He greets Spike good morning, but quieter now, mindful to not let his neighbor hear.

Today brings no expectations. He lounges on his bed after he's eaten breakfast, and he reads an old manga volume to pass the time. He can see Spike from the corner of his eye, and the little boy rests in an old takeaway box positioned on the windowsill. Yamaguchi has been sun drying the cactus as he’d been advised, but intentionally neglecting him is proving to be a challenge. Is he really taking care of him by not doing anything to him? Spike hasn't been looking any worse at least, so he considers that as a cause for relief.

Yamaguchi yawns. He thinks about how he's done a little bit of redecorating to accommodate his new routine. On the day he uprooted Spike, he cleaned his few gardening tools and placed them in a grocery bag that he now keeps under his window for easy access. He's moved one of his dining chairs there too, ready for whenever he had to sit by it to watch over Spike, or watch another prickly creature altogether. He thinks about what else he could do as he sits up and searches his bedside shelf for a suitable bookmark to keep his place. He comes up with rubber bands and event coasters he got from a dessert cafe, but he treasures the coasters too much to actually use them. He settles on a receipt from the pharmacy. He grabs his phone and tries to log onto the internet again, hoping to get a second opinion on cactus care. Not that he doubts his neighbor, but he figures it wouldn't hurt to do some independent researching. Instead he finds himself preoccupied, tapping his screen to get a T-Rex to jump over cacti on Google Chrome's error page since none of the websites would load.

He plays several rounds with varying levels of success before hitting game over. It's when he breaks past 1300 points on his fourth run that he hears a window creaking open. His concentration drifts as he strains his ears to catch any other noise. His game ends at a 1500 score - not his highest for the day, but high enough that it's depressing how long he'd been playing yet his internet still hadn't reconnected. He groans and walks over to his window, his phone still in hand.

He finds his neighbor inspecting his window flower box. Yamaguchi greets him and relays his gardening worries, and the man assures him with a laugh that, “Yes, don’t worry, your cactus is fine.”

Yamaguchi sits by the window and observes his neighbor as he works. The blond’s hair looks messier today, with waves sticking about every which way. He has on a polka-dotted pyjama top, and its material glitters in the morning light. He’s wearing gloves, and he's meticulous as he appraises his yellow flowers. He should look ridiculous in his get-up, but Yamaguchi thinks he wears it well, actually.

Yamaguchi crosses his arms and rests his full weight onto the windowsill. The other man takes out a pair of shears, and his eyeglasses glint in the light as he snips at the buds.

“You’re up awfully early to just be staring out the window,” his neighbor says without looking away from his task. His deep voice comes as a pleasant interruption in the morning quiet. “Got nothing planned today?”

“Something like that,” Yamaguchi answers, cheeks feeling hot despite the cool morning air. “I’m supposed to be working from home these days, but I haven’t been able to get much done yet.”

The blond scoffs. “Procrastinating?”

“No! Well. Only a little bit. It’s still too early to clock in, and my internet has been non-existent lately so I can’t exactly get a lot done anyway.”

His neighbor stops and meets Yamaguchi's eyes, and he looks genuinely sympathetic. “Oh. That sucks.”

“The timing’s awful. It’s supposed to get fixed soon, but every day until then has felt like an eternity.”

"At least you’re one day closer to when you get connection again."

"That's one way to look at it," Yamaguchi agrees with a smile.

His neighbor resumes his work. A pause falls as he focuses on his flowers, but this time Yamaguchi doesn't find a need to break the silence.

Yamaguchi takes the opportunity to open his phone. He feels gutsy enough to attempt logging onto the internet again. He manages to get enough connection to peep into his work chat and reply to worried messages from his friend Yachi. However, when he tries to load a page on flower maintenance, he's met with a familiar pixel dinosaur game.

Yamaguchi glances over to his neighbor when the sound of shears goes silent for longer than usual. He sees him staring at his flower box with slight alarm.

"Is something wrong?” Yamaguchi asks. “Why are you cutting off your flowers, anyway? They looked perfectly fine."

His neighbor looks at him, shakes his head, then disappears from the window in a flash.

Yamaguchi turns to Spike, albeit a little more dramatic than he’d intended.

“Did I say something to offend him?” Yamaguchi whispers.

Spike remains unresponsive. But there's some loud conversation in the distance — he can pick out at least three voices. He can't decipher much of the conversation aside from "Idiot" and “Wash your hands". He wonders which of his neighbors might be having a fight, but also feels curious about what it might be like to be quarantined with some human company.

Yamaguchi glances at his phone to check the time, but ends up feeling disheartened over the exclamation point and empty signal bars next to the connection status. He stares out into the distance again. There hasn't been much of a breeze all morning, but it’s still cool enough that he considers heading back to bed and getting under his covers.

The voices go quiet. His neighbor reappears soon after, his face set in a frown.

“I’m done for the morning,” the blond announces.

“Oh. Okay,” Yamaguchi says, grinning wide. His neighbor could’ve left him hanging and it would’ve been fine, probably, but Yamaguchi feels bubbly over the small consideration. "Have a good day!”

His neighbor readjusts his eyeglasses, his lips still in a straight line. He glances behind him before turning back to Yamaguchi. ”Uh, about your question earlier. I cut the flowers to help it produce more in the long run. Petunias grow quickly, but they can be short-lived and unruly if you leave it to its own devices. These are new blooms, so I have to check on them and maintain them every week."

“Gardening sure is more complicated than I thought,” Yamaguchi confesses. “I was worried I asked something rude since you walked out so quickly."

“No, it's fine. I just had to deal with something,” the man replies, frown returning to his face. “How long are you planning to look out of your window for?”

“Until it gets too hot, or I get some connection I guess,” Yamaguchi answers. He waves his phone up for his neighbor to see. “I usually have better luck with reception from here.”

“Good luck, then.”

"Thanks, I need it."

Yamaguchi rests his chin on his hand and sighs once his neighbor is presumably out of earshot. He's still not completely comfortable talking with a practical stranger, but it's better than being alone all day. And he'd like to think things are going a little less awkward today.

He scans the landscape around him. It's a slow morning, with barely any people walking along the streets below. He finds a plush toy being hung outside a window and imagines what kind of person its owner might be. His eyes catch on the old Christmas stickers on a window a couple units down. He makes a mental note to spruce up his room, too.

He turns to Spike. He backtracks on his thoughts a bit - he's not completely alone after all. Spike may not be able to talk, but Yamaguchi is grateful that daily life hasn't been monotonous thanks to him. Even if the eventful stuff is technically thanks to Spike having been on a fast track to death.

"I am so sorry, please live," he pleads to his cactus.

Yamaguchi prods Spike to see if he's okay. There's a mushiness to him, but Yamaguchi doesn't press too hard in case he hurts himself or ends up squashing Spike in the process. He wants to ask his neighbor about firmness factors now, but also wonders if he's just overthinking and being silly.

He takes his phone in his hand and considers consulting the internet again, but decides he doesn't need another no-connection heartbreak. His neighbor seems to know what he's talking about, so maybe he should just trust him. It's not like he comes off as unreliable or questionable anyway. Would he lie to him? What would he gain? But does he even seem like a nice person to begin with? He gets stuck on that thought. He thinks back to what his friend Yachi told him once, about how good-looking people tend to get treated better simply because they're attractive. Was he putting too much stock on his neighbor’s word because he happened to be attractive? But he kept plants too and seemed to generally care about them, so he has some credibility, right? It's not like Yamaguchi was listening to him just because he liked the sound of his deep voice. But he's not denying that he thinks his neighbor is attractive now, is he? He's objectively good-looking. That's what it is. Nice hair, nice face, nice voice — that's the goof proof formula. It's not a completely personal opinion. But is Yamaguchi really being rational? Can he really trust his neighbor then, or even trust himself? Damn he wishes he could fact check on some online cactus forums right now. He will at least admit that his neighbor has been helpful and fun to talk to…

He turns to Spike again, and finds reasons to smile instead. He tunes out his worries.

"Whatever it is, we should thank him when you're all better, huh?"

The wind has grown warmer with the hour. Yamaguchi’s attention drifts to thoughts of taking a nap, or maybe a second breakfast. The quick and gentle rustling of leaves comes as a lullaby, but they bring an idea to mind. He knows he wants to talk to Yachi about his plant situation as soon as he possibly could. Get her up to speed with all his green thumb misadventures, among other things. With his internet situation being the way it is, it would probably be better to get all his photos at the ready to set the scene for her. He knows he won’t be able to casually ask his neighbor for a photograph, but taking a pic of the view outside his own window should be all fine and legal, right?

He sets up his camera and aims it towards the yellow flowers, but he jumps in his seat before he could even frame the shot.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I didn’t hear you there,” is all Yamaguchi manages as an explanation.

“Was I supposed to announce my arrival?”

His neighbor's hair looks darker, less unruly, and not as fluffy as when he first saw him earlier in the day. He's wearing a new shirt, and he rubs a towel against the side of his head as he says, “I wasn't expecting to still see you here, either. Have you really just been hanging out there this whole time?”

Yamaguchi lets out a strained laugh. “Seems like it.”

“Any luck with your connection?”

“No,” he sighs.

“What networks can you access from there?”

He unlocks his phone and opens his connection settings. He allows the tab to load before enumerating whatever networks it could detect.

"If you lived two more units down the building, you might have had some luck getting with the convenience store WiFi."

"Oh, you're right! I should try camping over at the end of the hallway,” Yamaguchi perks up, but realization dawns on him quickly. “Ah, but there aren't any windows over there and I'd be worried about leaving Spike alone," he mutters.

"I don't imagine he'd be getting into trouble if left unsupervised."

"He might roll out of his box or something. I don't want to take any chances."

His neighbor glances between Yamaguchi, Spike, and his own flowers and says, “You good at catching?”

Yamaguchi raises an eyebrow. “If he’d roll out of my window then yes I’ll be the best catcher there is, but I can’t catch him if I’m not there with him.”

The other man shifts about, and retrieves what looks like a piece of paper. He reaches over and grabs a rock from his window planter and proceeds to wrap the paper around it.

“You can see this, right?"

"Yes...?"

"Catch,” his neighbor says as he throws the ball towards him.

Yamaguchi gets it on reflex, the rock hitting his chest and hands with a sharp weight. He is still confused by the events. He props the paper ball on his windowsill and opens it.

“This is —“

“Don’t,” his neighbor interrupts. “I don’t want to take any chances, either, and someone might overhear.”

It’s a WiFi username and password. He can’t decide between smiling from joy or laughing in disbelief. He ends up doing both.

"Your handwriting is really pretty."

His neighbor snorts. "That's all you got from it?"

"No, but thank you,” he says, still at a loss for words. “Are you sure about this? I don’t know what to say, this is a lifesaver.”

“Only until your connection comes back, so don’t get too happy about it."

Yamaguchi grins wider. “Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"If it was then I'd be disappointed with your reaction," his neighbor answers, but he returns Yamaguchi’s smile. "Now you can have other things to do aside from talk to your cactus and actually look up how to take care of it."

He feels his stomach sink a little. ”I’m sorry. Were you bothered by me pestering you all this time?"

“That's not what I said."

Yamaguchi smooths out the piece of paper and wipes the dust off it. He looks at the neat series of letters and numbers scribbled across it. He hadn’t seen his neighbor writing down anything while he stood by the window earlier, so he must’ve gone and prepared it beforehand.

”Do you have anything you want at the moment?” Yamaguchi asks. “Let me thank you for your kindness. I can pay for delivery for you or something.”

“It’s nothing, you don’t have to,” the blond shakes off, but he pauses before continuing, "I don't think I ever got your name."

"Oh, it's Yamaguchi Tadashi.”

"Thanks. If my connection slows down, now I'll know who to report."

"How could you accuse me before I've even logged on?" Yamaguchi complains, but he doesn't say it with any heat. "I never got to ask for your name, either."

"It's Tsukishima Kei."

"So, what would you like, Tsukishima-san?”

"Just Tsukishima is fine. And there's no need, I don’t really have anything else I’d like.”

"Haha, what, so you just wanted to know my name?" Yamaguchi meant to think to himself, but he blurts it out loud instead. He looks away immediately. He feels happiness for one second and his filter and defences fly out of the window, huh, is that how it is? Attractive people... curse them. He feels his face heat up at his stupidity but tries to play it cool and laugh it off. “B-but I insist! You’ve been helping me a lot, so surely there’s something I could do to give back.”

“If you insist...” Tsukishima drawls out. A moment goes by, and Yamaguchi looks up to see if he’s still there. He is. It’s only then that the blond continues. “...I guess I could use some toilet paper.”

Yamaguchi feel his nervousness wash off him again. He can't hold back his giggle as he says, “Of course! Would that be all?"

"You're talking as if toilet paper isn't the world's biggest luxury right now."

"I guess. But it's a luxury I don't mind sharing,” he answers.

"Honestly, just a single roll would be a lifesaver for me right now, too."

"Nice," Yamaguchi smiles. "So, how would you like to get it? Are you any good at catching?"

* * *

The first thing Yamaguchi does with his new internet connection is fact-check everything Tsukishima has ever told him. It comes as both a relief and a surprise that everything he's said has been sound advice.

The next thing he does is message Yachi that they need to have a video call as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love TsukkiYama AUs because I love thinking that these two would still find each other even if they weren't childhood friends. But I also dread making them because I can't always justify Yamaguchi calling Tsukishima "Tsukki" right out the gate. We'll get there eventually.
> 
> Also, I procrastinated drawing for this chapter sooooo bad. I don't like drawing windows. Or backgrounds for that matter. Why am I drawing for this again?? And yes, I am both the artist and the author for this fic... I am so sorry for the confusion. I go by "skell" here on ao3 and "yankasmiles" on all my drawing-related social media, so I refer to myself by different names as author and artist so people can find me in whichever channel they find relevant, if that makes sense. But I'm just one person... I used to get accused of copying/stealing from myself because I go by different names on social media, so I poke fun at it and talk about my different social media as though they were owned by different people, too :^) but the reality is skell and yankasmiles are just one big idiot. And that idiot is me. Party!
> 
> See you next week! Or 10 days from now. We'll see if I procrastinate drawing again or not haha.


	3. planting the seed

“Looking good there, little man! Ready to go sunbathing?” Yamaguchi says as he gingerly scoops Spike up in his hand.

Spike says nothing, but does a very good job of not rolling off when Yamaguchi sets him back in his box on the windowsill.

“Don’t go anywhere,” Yamaguchi warns, walking backwards out of his bedroom while keeping an eye on Spike. Once he’s out, he scurries to his kitchen and grabs the breakfast he’d prepared earlier, then dashes back as fast as he could.

He settles in his seat, and enjoys his view. He places his tea infuser bottle on the windowsill and uses his free hand to browse his phone. He taps his settings and sure enough, there it is — WiFi connection.

When he first logged on to Tsukishima’s network yesterday, the first thing he did was get updated with society's current situation at large. There wasn’t any happiness to be found in the rising statistics, but on the bright side the cherry blossom forecasts noted that the season was nearing its peak. The trees that he could see from his window have started showing signs of colour, too. Maybe he’ll get to see them up close in time for his next grocery visit. He'd spent a good portion of his day replying to his work emails and pending messages, easing the worries of friends and family that hadn’t heard from him in days. He’d gotten a barrage of messages from Yachi, all relieved to finally hear back from him. They managed a quick conversation before she had to go back on her work grind. And by quick conversation, it was mostly Yamaguchi mentioning how he's found a new friend in his neighbor, and Yachi grilling him for more information. But that may have been partly because Yamaguchi was being unreasonably elusive about him as well.

Today he types out a good morning greeting and opens his camera to send Yachi a couple photos of Spike and of his breakfast. She replies back with a perfectly composed photo of two omelettes, two coffee mugs, plus a tiny white paw cameo on the corner of the table. She captions it with “We are having breakfast right now, too. Are you waiting for your Romeo by the window already? At 6 A.M.??”

He ignores her tone and responds with, “Romeo? You mean my neighbor? He doesn’t get up until a little later.”

“So that’s why you have time to talk to me?” Yachi says with an added teary-eyed sticker emoji.

Yamaguchi takes a bite from his sandwich. He chats with Yachi for a bit more until she has to leave to bathe her dog and get ready for work. He contemplates browsing through Twitter to check on his favourite idols, but the sound of a window opening catches his attention. He smiles to himself before he even looks up.

“Good morning!” Yamaguchi greets.

His blond neighbor squints at him. He isn’t wearing his eyeglasses. His eyes are unfocused, distracted.

“Have you eaten yet?”

Tsukishima brings a hand to his shirt collar and pats around his chest, eventually taking out the eyeglasses that were clipped to his chest pocket. He has on a short-sleeved pyjama top today — dark with what looks like thin pinstripes, and it isn’t of a shiny material like the other times Yamaguchi has seen him.

When the eyeglasses are on, Tsukishima properly stares at Yamaguchi and raises an eyebrow. 

“Are you asking me or Spikeasaurus Rex?”

Yamaguchi laughs as he answers, “You, of course! And you can just call him Spike.”

“I'll think about it," Tsukishima replies. “To answer your question, no I haven’t eaten yet. And before you ask, no, I don’t name any of my plants.”

“Wh-what? That’s kind of disappointing.” Yamaguchi shakes his head. He pauses to point at his sandwich. “Do you mind if I eat?”

“Go ahead.”

“Well, it’s not too late to start naming them now,” he continues.

Tsukishima squints at him. “Huh? No way.”

“Why not? Not up for the challenge?”

"Challenge? What part of naming a plant is a challenge?" The blond looks more baffled with each passing moment.

Yamaguchi tries very hard to keep a firm expression. "I mean, you nurture them and look after them... they're like your own children. What would you call them otherwise? By their scientific name?"

"Actually..."

Yamaguchi fights the urge to crack up. "I mean, even a nickname would do, right?"

Tsukishima folds his arms and leans forward. "So what would you suggest?" 

He perks up at that. "You'd let me name your plant children?"

Tsukishima lets out a chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” Yamaguchi asks, finally allowing himself to break into a smile. He tilts his head a bit as he takes a celebratory bite of his sandwich. 

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You’re just as ridiculous for following along.”

“You might be right,” Tsukishima nods as he puts on his gloves.

Yamaguchi hadn’t really taken notice of them before since they were always covered, but the other man’s bare fingers are long and almost dainty-looking. From appearances alone, it was hard to tell they were hands that toiled so much in a garden.

“What kinds of plants do you have in your place now, actually?” Yamaguchi asks.

“Just the usual houseplants, nothing fancy,” the other man replies. 

“It must be lively in your home.”

Tsukishima pauses to look at him, but turns his gaze back to something inside his own room. "I don't really have a lot."

“Have you always been into gardening?”

“I don't know. Our house had a garden when I was growing up, so I got used to being around plants.” 

“I see,” Yamaguchi nods. He pauses to allow his neighbor to finish getting ready, and he takes the chance to take another bite of food. “What have you been doing to pass the time lately? Aside from gardening, I mean.”

The man stops and folds his hands on the windowsill. He smiles a bit as he asks, “I didn't know I was scheduled for an interview with you this morning.”

“Sorry, let me know if I'm bothering you,” Yamaguchi says, returning the smile. "But I mean, you are kind of dressed for the part.”

Tsukishima breaks out into a laugh. He takes out his watering can and begins watering his flowers. “You aren’t exactly looking very refined and professional yourself, Mister Interviewer.”

He raises his eyebrows at that. “I’m dressed perfectly fine for a day at home. Also this has been one of my favourite shirts since I was in high school.”

“And how many years ago was that? It sure looks like it’s reaching the end of its life,” his neighbor says with a click of his tongue, but follows it up with a grin. “Don’t forget to take care of yourself before you worry about poor Spikeasaurus Rex.”

“It may be threadbare but it’s comfortable,” Yamaguchi shrugs. “Sorry not everyone wants to wear fancy pyjamas to bed.”

His neighbor pouts at that. “Hey, these are comfortable, too.”

“To you.”

“Touché.” Tsukishima raises his eyebrows and nods. “So what have you been doing over there, then?”

Yamaguchi coughs. He moves his empty sandwich plate away and grabs his tea bottle. “But you… You didn’t answer my question?”

“I answered the first ones so now it’s your turn,” he reasons. “Are you planning to stare out the window all day again today?”

Yamaguchi puffs his chest a bit and smiles. “Thanks to a kind citizen’s generosity, I’m actually going to be able to join a work video call meeting later.”

“Wow, some productivity.”

A spark of interest ignites in Yamaguchi's mind. “Have you been working from home these days, too?”

“Some days, yes, but I do have to go down to the office sometimes.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a registrar at the museum,” Tsukishima answers. He puts away his watering can and takes out what looks like a green syringe.

“Museums are still open right now?”

“For visiting? No." He moves the leaves around his yellow petunias and sticks the syringe into the soil. He keeps it there. "The operations team are still coming up with ways on how to go about new health protocols and crowd control. But the conservation work is never-ending.”

Yamaguchi nods as he considers what the job might entail. “You guys don’t have to worry about social distancing when working?”

“I can do most of my work without having to interact directly with anyone.”

“What have your days in the office been like lately, then?”

“My predecessor held the position for decades and put off cataloguing several boxes, and I haven’t been able to deal with it until now,” he answers plainly. “I’ve been taking this lull in operations as a chance to go through all the stuff. I’ve still barely made a dent on their backlog.”

“Any interesting finds?”

“Not really," he shrugs as he adjusts his eyeglasses. “Oh, but there was a piece of a finger mixed in one of the boxes though.”

Yamaguchi's eyes widen like saucers. “A finger? Human?”

Tsukishima rests his elbows on the windowsill and waves his left pinky finger at Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi gulps. “Do you think it might be, you know, from that side of the world…?”

“Can’t tell for sure. Everything else in the box was pretty tame in comparison. The phalange wasn’t accounted for in any of the documentation.”

“Eugh,” he shivers. “What did you do with it?”

“Oh, you’d like to know,” Tsukishima rests his chin on the back of his gloved hand and grins. “How am I doing so far?”

“In what?”

“The interview.”

"Your work's just really interesting, okay,” Yamaguchi confesses. What he doesn’t confess is that he just finds Tsukishima interesting in general. “So much more exciting than mine.”

Tsukishima shifts his posture, crossing and uncrossing his arms on the ledge. Eventually, he settles for entwining his fingers together. “What do you do, then?”

“Just a lot of talking and pencil pushing.”

The blond nods. “That’s not much different from what I’m doing.”

“You look at dismembered body parts!”

“I'm sure your work life has its own excitements.”

“An exciting work day is one that wraps up early, which almost never happens,” Yamaguchi answers without hesitation. “I help with product management for our company. We sell an array of products, so it's a bunch of data analyzing and research. When we’re short on staff, I do help with the coordination of order fulfillments with our vendors. I’ve been told by coworkers that there's a lot of focus on online orders now, since there’s been an increased demand with people staying home.”

“More work? Sounds exciting," his neighbor smiles. He takes out a familiar frog pot as he adds, "Congratulations on the good business.”

Yamaguchi groans as he takes a sip from his bottle. He looks to the distance and finds yesterday’s plush toy still clipped to a clothesline. “Us small guys won’t earn anything extra for all the added hours, but I’m happy to be able to work still.”

"Not too bad for a job where you don’t have to deal with mystery fingers, at least.”

"We run the risk of catching some sticky fingers, maybe. But dismembered ones, not quite."

A rumbling noise punctuates the momentary silence. Yamaguchi immediately turns to Tsukishima, but Tsukishima doesn’t meet his eyes.

“Was that you?” Yamaguchi asks.

Tsukishima grimaces, and the expression makes Yamaguchi laugh. They both end up laughing together. Yamaguchi feels warmth in the pit of his stomach, and maybe it isn’t from the tea.

“Unfortunately,” the blond answers when he finally composes himself.

“Sorry for talking for too long, you should go eat.”

“It's okay. I'll be going first, then,” Tsukishima says as he gathers his things.

While Yamaguchi wasn't looking, the blond had set up a small row of plants on the windowsill. Yamaguchi's eyes now follow his neighbor's hands as he runs a small towel down the length of the ledge. Yamaguchi watches still as Tsukishima removes his gloves and rubs the residual dust off, until eventually the other’s pale arms retract back into the unseen room behind the window.

“Yamaguchi?”

He whips his head back up to Tsukishima's eyes. “Yeah?”

“Spike’s looking pretty good, so I think we could repot him by next Monday. I can prepare some soil that you could use.”

“Oh, wow, sure! Thanks!” he beams. “Enjoy the rest of your day!”

“Likewise,” Tsukishima says with a smile on his face.

* * *

Yamaguchi’s phone rings. He tiptoes over to the furthest area in his room and is pleased to find he’s still able to get internet connection from this distance. 

He accepts the call and waits for the app to load. A bright smile greets him once the video connects.

“Hi, Yacchan! Off from work now?”

“Yes, hello, hello, I haven’t seen you in so long!” she greets with a bright smile. “Where are you? Is that— Are you sitting by your entryway?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Why? Did you just get home from somewhere?”

“No, um,” Yamaguchi pauses to adjust his earphones while he thinks about what to say. “I’m trying not to let my neighbor hear us.”

“Oh? Why? Who? Romeo?” the girl says, lowering her own voice to match Yamaguchi’s whisper.

“No, no. It's nothing. Stop calling him Romeo, that's not the best comparison to make anyway."

Yachi waves her hands around. "Well it's because you won't tell me his name. We've been at this since yesterday! What's all the mystery for?"

"Can we talk about that later, Yacchan, we haven't spoken in so long! How are you? Have you been working remotely?” Yamaguchi asks, dodging the questions yet again.

“Okay, fine. We’re getting ready to! The directors just green-lit our work-from-home operations today.”

“That’s good," Yamaguchi replies. He'd only been sitting for a while but the limited space is already starting to cramp up his legs. He scratches a spot on his knee as he adds, "It'd just be like your freelancing days.”

“I know! I’ll finally have the luxury of spending the whole work day in pyjamas, just like good old times,” Yachi laughs. “How are you holding up with your work?”

“I technically just got back today and let’s just say I'm already ready for the weekend,” he sighs. “I could usually tough it out knowing I'd get to have some fun on my days off, but now I don't know what to motivate myself with. It’s kind of sad we can’t go out for the usual Friday night drinks for a while.”

“What are you talking about? We can always share a drink while on-call," Yachi says matter-of-factly. "Not today though, it’s a weeknight!”

“Of course, gotta be responsible,” Yamaguchi agrees.

“And you've got Spike to take care of, too. Where is he, anyway? I want to see him live and in the virtual flesh!”

“I’ll go get him, he’s chilling in my bed right now.”

“Why don’t you just head to your bedroom, then? You always complain about how narrow your entryway is for sitting, what are you even doing there?”

Yamaguchi bites the inside of his cheek.

“You’re really avoiding that neighbor, huh.”

“No, no, I’m telling you it’s nothing,” Yamaguchi defends. “Like I told you, he's actually the one who’s been helping me with Spike, and the one who gave his internet details for me to use for now. He teases me a bit because he’s overheard me talk to Spike, so I’m just a little worried that he might hear us right now.”

“If he listens in to a conversation then that's on his conscience, not yours though.”

“You know how excitable I can get," Yamaguchi laughs sheepishly. "He’s really cool, so I guess I’m trying to save face where I can. Keep a good impression going.”

“How cool are we talking? You’re pretty cool yourself, you know.”

“Oh stop, we both know that is not true,” he snorts. “He’s got this air about him that’s kind of effortless. Like almost every time I’ve seen him, he’s got a bedhead and is in these fancy suit pyjamas and gardening gloves, but he still makes it look good. It's kind of unfair, actually."

"Okay..."

Yamaguchi continues, without missing a beat. "He’s kind of mean though, but not in a bad way, I think. He’s got a room full of plants that he diligently takes care of, and he’s just so knowledgeable about everything. I’m certain Spike would’ve died if he didn’t help me when he did, and now he's recovered enough to get repotted soon.”

“I guess he is kind of cool for helping you out like that,” Yachi smiles. 

“He works at a museum, too. Apparently had to catalogue a dismembered finger recently.”

The color drains from Yachi’s face. “A w-w-w-what now? Finger? Is it from the yakuza?!”

Yamaguchi feels a sense of pride. “From some archive of unreviewed items. I don’t know the full details, but isn’t it cool?”

Yachi frowns. “Maybe as a story, but I would pass out on the spot if that happened to me. No, thank you. How’d he let you onto his WiFi network, though? Did you ask him?”

“No way, I'm not that bold,” he said with a shake of his head. “I just mentioned to him in passing that I didn’t have any connection, and one thing led to another and he wrote down his username and password info for me.”

"He just... handed it to you?"

"No, he threw it into my window."

Yachi puts a finger to her chin. “Huh.”

“I was starting to feel bad about him helping me so much, so I asked him if he wanted anything, and he requested toilet paper.”

“A smart and practical choice, but kind of a tall order on your end.”

“Nah, I was happy to give him two rolls.”

“Wow, two?! In these trying times?” the girl shook her head in awe. “He must’ve been really grateful for that.”

“Yeah, he was smiling a lot," Yamaguchi shares, smiling to himself from the memory. "It was cute to see someone so happy over tissue.”

Yachi stares for a moment. “How did you give it to him though? Sounds a little dangerous to be chucking toilet paper into someone’s window.”

“I got the tension rod I use for the shower curtain in my bathroom, secured a plastic bag to it, and reached over to his window so he could get the toilet paper.”

“Yamaguchi, what.”

“It was some real spontaneous genius on my part.”

“Genius enough to sneak a note in it with your phone number?”

“What? No?!” he exclaims, in a pitch too high to be considered casual. “Why would I?”

"Must be nice having so much free time to flirt with a neighbor."

"I am not fl- doing anything of that sort," Yamaguchi fumbles, catching himself quickly enough to choose his words. If he spoke too carelessly now, his fears may just be realized and there was definitely going to be a chance that Tsukishima would overhear.

"Not yet, then," Yachi nods sagely. “Just crushing on a neighbor for now.”

He feels his cheeks go hot. “That’s not what’s happening here.”

“You have spent this whole time talking about how cool you think he is, Yamaguchi. I have not even seen this guy yet but I already know you think his bedhead is cute. His laugh is cute. Even his pyjamas are cute.”

“I did not say that.”

“Maybe not word for word, but you get my point," Yachi says with a clap of her hands. "The city is in a state of emergency, but you have chosen to be in a state of denial.”

Yamaguchi groans. “Yacchan…”

“Hehe, sorry! When you’re living with a copywriter you kind of start wordsmith-ing it up.”

"Stop, I don't think it's like that. I kind of just want to be friends.”

“I know! It’s not a crush. Right,” Yachi says as she waggles her brows.

Yamaguchi lets out a puff of air. "Enough. Isn't this around the time you start having to give dog medicine? Maybe we should end the call here."

“No, don't be mean, I still want to talk to you," Yachi whines, but her expression drops quickly. "Oh, you're right, though. It really is already this late."

“See! Let's talk again next time."

"You win for now! You better tell me everything next time."

"If there's anything to tell," Yamaguchi shrugs. "Good night, Yacchan."

"Knowing you, I know there would be. Stay safe, Yamaguchi! Health-wise and heart-wise,” Yachi says with a wink before dropping the call.

* * *

The sky outside is dark now, and the night is silent. On a normal day it would’ve been bustling with the sounds of people chattering in the streets, music from nearby cafes, and cars and bicycles driving past in constant flow, but the new normal has been the opposite. 

Yamaguchi drags his feet as he enters his room. He throws his phone onto his bed and follows soon after with his body. The exhaustion of the day settles in his bones. His limbs feel cool from the shower, but his face goes warm as his mind drifts to other things. He curls to his side to look at Spike. Spike’s box lay empty on the windowsill, while the little boy lay on a scrap newspaper clipping on the bed. Spike has rolled off a bit from the force of Yamaguchi throwing his body onto his mattress, and the torn up article beneath him reads “Sold Out Concert” in thick black text, a marker of simpler times.

“It’s your repotting day soon, Spike. I guess I could just use the one you came in, but I wonder if there’s somewhere close by that I could go to get you a nice new pot,” Yamaguchi whispers. He closes his eyes and debates succumbing to sleep right then and there. “Are you excited? I'm nervous, to be honest. I should start watching videos of how to repot you so I don't mess up."

He opens his eyes and reaches for his phone. The first video he pulls up ends up being a text-heavy slideshow that doesn't really show so much as tell what must be done.

"Uh.. Tsukishima would probably guide us through it, right..." Yamaguchi drones. "Ah, but I don't want to expect anything. He's already helped us so much. He already said he’d give us soil so you can settle in better, too. He’s really nice.”

His own words make him pause. Yachi’s accusations echo in his head, and he swats the thoughts away. He sets his phone down and stares at his ceiling.

“Actually, no. Is he really nice, though? He poked fun at my shirt. Sure it’s got a stretched neckline and a faded print, but what’s wrong with wearing old clothes at home? It’s comfy! We all need comfort during these hard times! And it’s Bulbasaur, how could he judge Bulbasaur? Talking about how I should take care of myself before I thought to take care of you… Not everyone wants to walk around wearing fancy tuxedo pyjamas like him.” 

He groans, furrowing his brows. His neighbor’s face reappears in his mind, and his pout deepens.

“Ah, but when he laughs, well… Once you get used to his tone, he’s kind of fun to talk to, actually… And he’s been helping me even when he doesn't gain anything from it…”

He reaches over and runs his fingers over Spike’s sharp edges. The cactus feels firmer now, and there’s a dull pain when Yamaguchi presses his finger. He focuses on the feeling, trying to keep his mind on the present instead of getting ahead and running heart-first into tomorrow.

“I shouldn’t dwell on it too much. I’d had nothing to do for a while, and no one to talk to, so I’ve just been a little focused on him. That’s all. With work back and everything, things will be different. I’ll have other things to do in the day. Yachi's just misunderstanding.” Yamaguchi nods to himself. “Right. Spike, I’ll just focus on taking care of you. And myself, too. I’m glad we could have this conversation.”

Yamaguchi carries his green baby over to the windowsill and sets him back in his box. He turns his lights off, gets under his covers, and lets out a yawn.

“Good night, Spike."

He then feels for his phone in the darkness and glances at the time. It's a split-second decision. Thirty minutes and he'll go to sleep, he'll give himself that much. He unlocks his phone. Finally, it's time to browse his idols’ twitter feeds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spontaneously decided to try making Yachi's stickers an actual thing that could be used on social media. And by spontaneous I mean I decided just a few hours ago while I was uploading the chapter art lol. I've already sent my application, and maybe by the next chapter update it'll be up and ready for free public use on IG stories! Never done something like it before so I'm excited to try it out~
> 
> Heads up as well that due to changes to my work schedule, I will not be able to update next week. See you by June 12! Thank you for reading and for commenting ;v;


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